Nuclear Weapons

Robert Gates made a big deal out of the security of U.S. nuclear weapons, going so far as to fire the Air Force’s top two officials for one too many atomic fumbles. Apparently he left the Navy’s nuclear nightmares to successor Leon Panetta.

Abdul Qadeer Khan is tired of being a scapegoat. The controversial father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb shared hi-tech secrets and equipment with a host of rogue regimes — including North Korea and Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya — earning himself international notoriety and a 2005 TIME magazine cover that dubbed him “the Merchant of Menace.” …

…following up on Tuesday’s report of the internal threat extremists in Pakistan pose to Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal. Here’s a decidedly measured but alarming study detailing the most likely group of terrorists to win the race to become a nuclear power.

The historically-porous frontier dividing Afghanistan from Pakistan — all 1,600 miles (2,400 km.) of it — has long been easily crossed by Taliban fighters seeking to attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan, who then withdraw back into the relative safety of Pakistan. If that constant border crossing isn’t headache enough for local …

The New America Foundation’s sponsored debate over defense spending showcased two schools of American political thought entirely comfortable with allowing American power and influence to decline on the global stage.

In my continuing role as Head Judge for the online strategy community Wikistrat‘s month-long International Grand Strategy Competition featuring roughly 30 teams from top-flight universities and think tanks around the world, I get to peruse all manner of provocative thought from some of tomorrow’s best and brightest thinkers. And …

As the Pentagon’s “efficiencies review” unfolds, one Cold War mainstay of the US military posture is inevitably going to be retired – namely, the land-based portion of the strategic missile triad. The Pentagon is tasked with coming up with $400 billion in savings over the next decade, and so this long-discussed option (and old Mark …

When it was passed by the UN in 1996, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was seen as a crucial step for nuclear arms control and nonproliferation. Adding to the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 that banned testing in the atmosphere, underwater or outer space, the CTBT prohibits all nuclear explosions in all environments. The …

As the Pentagon’s nuclear arsenal continues to shrink, so does the rationale for maintaining the Cold War’s nuclear triad that still has nuclear weapons spread among subs, bombers and land-based missiles. But as its components age, advocates come up with neat schemes to preserve their slice of the triad. If bombers are doomed, the …

Christopher Hitchens isn’t an arms-control expert (thank God), but he is a damn fine writer, master polemicist and certifiable Big Thinker. He’s come up with his own nuclear non-proliferation regime over on Slate. Bottom line:

The possession of illegally acquired nuclear weapons remains a huge threat and burden to neighboring states